Abstract: An anti-shock batting glove adapted to receive a thumb and forefingers of a hand, including: a dorsal side for covering a dorsal side of the hand, and a palmar side for covering a palm of a hand. The palmar side comprises a plurality of detached finger pads adapted to limit shock to a batter's hand encountered during batting. The plurality of detached finger pads comprise a palm pad configured to cover a lower portion of a palm of the hand, a first finger pad configured to cover a metacarpal of a pinky finger, a second finger pad configured to cover a metacarpal and a phalange of a ring finger, a third finger pad configured to cover a metacarpal, a proximal phalange, and an intermediate phalange of a middle finger, and a fourth finger pad configured to cover an area between a thumb and an index finger. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also claimed and discussed.

Abstract: A shoe comprising a retractable lace protector for protecting the laces thereon. The lace protector has a deployed and a stowed position. In a deployed position, the lace protector can be disposed in a substantially parallel manner and adjacent to the upper side of the tongue of the shoe and in a substantially overlying manner to the laces thereof. In a stowed position, the lace protector can be disposed in a substantially parallel manner and adjacent to the lower side of the tongue of the shoe. The shoe can further comprise one or more fastening elements to detachably affix the lace protector in one or both of the deployed position and the stowed position. The shoe can further comprise a lace guard pocket for storing the lace protector in the stowed position.

Abstract: A glove wearable for exercise includes a back part covering the back side of a wearer's hand when worn, a palm part covering the palm side of the wearer when worn, and a resin pattern formed tightly adhered on a surface of the back part. The resin pattern is formed in a web, and density of the pattern is preferably adjusted region by region of the back part, in accordance with the amount of deformation when the glove is worn.

Abstract: An enzyme immobilizing carrier is produced by dissolving low-molecular weight chitosan in an aqueous acid solution and dropping the solution into a basic solution to produce regenerated porous chitosan in particles, reacting the regenerated porous chitosan in particles with the glycidyl ether of an aliphatic polyalcohol, and reacting further the resulting chitosan with the acid halide or acid anhydride of a higher fatty acid in a polar organic solvent. An enzyme and a polyfunctional cross-linking agent are reacted with the carrier to covalently immobilize the enzyme on the carrier. In a preferred embodiment, the enzyme is lipase and the carrier is produced by introducing the glycidyl ether of an aliphatic polyalcohol at 0.01 to 0.4 mole to 1 mole of the pyranose ring residue of the chitosan and by introducing a higher fatty acid having a total carbon number of 6 to 20 at 0.05 to 1 mole to 1 mole of the pyranose ring residue of the chitosan.